Shopping till she drops / Home-decor consultant helps those who know what they want but not how to get it

Angelica Pence

Published
4:00 am PDT, Wednesday, September 3, 2003

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Photo: KATY RADDATZ

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Shopping till she drops / Home-decor consultant helps those who know what they want but not how to get it

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Carol Rothman knew the exact color, texture and thickness of the stone she wanted for her Marin patio.

She trekked to at least eight warehouses and distributors in the North Bay and lugged heavy samples to and from her house, but no luck. That is, until she got fed up and handed the time-consuming search over to Carolyn Einstein, owner of Access Decor. Within days, Einstein found four samples and mailed them to Rothman's home. One of them, from

American Slate, turned out to be the perfect type and hue of emerald green slate.

"There are a lot of us who know what we want, and either we can't get it because (showrooms) only sell to designers, don't know where to find what we're looking for, or just don't have the time," said Rothman, a wedding planner. Einstein "has a lot more resources than I would ever have on my own. And it's nice to be able to tap into that."

Akin to a personal shopper at a high-end department store, Access Decor is proving popular with those who don't want or need the all-encompassing services and often pricey fees of a design firm, but who do want some help buying custom, middle- and high-end furniture, accessories, fabrics, lighting, art and other home-related products sans the hefty mark-ups.

"A lot of people fear that an interior designer will come in and take over, " says Einstein, who opened for business in June in the San Francisco Design Center. "I don't do that. It doesn't matter what I think they want for their home. It only matters what they want and how I can help them find it."

Einstein grew up in Kentfield, graduated from Stanford University in 1993 with a degree in human biology and worked in the technology sector before switching gears again three years ago into interior design. Since then the 32- year-old San Franciscan has been working alongside her mother, Diane Einstein, a well-known San Francisco interior designer whose office is down the hall from Access Decor.

While many designers and decorators have tapered their services to fit with the slumping economy and the decidedly less extravagant, post-Sept. 11 era, few offer Einstein's shopping-only service catering to the decor-savvy, cash- conscious consumer niche. (Its main competitor, Buy Design, offers a similar service in the Design Center.)

So far, Access Decor's client roster is as colorful as the styles that are available to them. Several are established businesspeople like Rothman, others are young couples and homemakers. Einstein's services also attract a good number of single men looking to upgrade their bachelor pads from the frat boy look to that of a sophisticated single man. Whatever their situation, all want to give their homes an individual sense of color, space and character, and are short on time to make it happen.

The young entrepreneur doesn't step foot in her clients' homes. She will, however, meet with them in person, over the phone or via e-mail and either track down a single product, gently nudge them toward a general style or color scheme, or advise them on everything from teak, to Roman shades, to bar stools and boullion fringe.

The business - aside from acting as a buffer between shoppers, showrooms and manufacturers - also is a beginner or intermediate course of sorts for the growing stream of people in their 30s making their way to showrooms at Henry Adams Street.

Access Decor "is a great introduction to our Design Center and to working with higher-end furnishings," says Gary Castro, manager of the McRae-Hinckley showroom. Einstein's clients "don't have to commit to a full-time designer. But somewhere down the line, if they want to hire someone, she can step in and make that happen. It's a gradual process."

Einstein charges a one-time fee of $150, which includes an initial consultation; time spent researching and preparing ideas; and up to two hours of escorted shopping throughout the Design Center or the slightly more affordable San Francisco Furniture Mart on Market Street. Beyond that, she charges $55 an hour. By contrast, a conventional, full-time interior designer in San Francisco can run more than $100 an hour.

She splits the cost difference of each product that she handles between wholesale (designers' cost) and retail. That means an average 20 percent discount on fabrics and a 25 percent discount on furniture, she says. And while Einstein prefers to do business with showrooms, she also can arrange for a more affordable alternative or have a piece custom-made.

Access Decor clients can browse through the Design Center on their own and Einstein will handle the paperwork. The Design Center is open to the public but most showrooms do not sell products directly to private, non-trade individuals.

Still, browsing can be overwhelming for the average person with more than 100 showrooms in the maze-like complex, each carrying numerous lines and wares that are constantly changing. Einstein makes navigating easier by narrowing down the field and taking clients only to those that fit their needs, style and budget. She rounds up swatches, photos, prices and other information to help clients make informed decision on specific items they've seen at the center, or in a catalog or magazine. (Who wants to spend thousands of dollars on a sofa only to spot one that you like better just weeks after you pay it off?) Access Decor also deals with the time-consuming tasks of ordering, billing and shipping.

Dennis Affleck, a salesman at Kneedler-Fauchere and a 25-year veteran of the trade, often sends walk-in clients Einstein's way.

"People will stroll into the showroom and maybe they don't want the whole house done, maybe they just want a chair or some draperies," he says. Einstein "is good at what she does. Her mom is a decorator, she grew up with this, so she knows the business."

Editor's note: On the first Wednesday of each month, the Chronicle's Home & Garden section features a fresh face making his or her mark on the Bay Area's thriving design community. If you know of hot new designers (think Generation X or Y), please let us know about them. E-mail Angelica Pence at
apence@sfchronicle.com
or write to her at The San Francisco Chronicle, 901 Mission St., San Francisco, CA 94103.
Carolyn Einstein